Blaze and the Monster Machines is an animated children's television series. It premiered on Nickelodeon on October 13, 2014. The show revolves around Blaze, a monster truck, and his human driver, AJ, as they have adventures in Axle City and learn about various STEM concepts that help them on their way. Joining them is the human mechanic Gabby and their monster truck friends: Stripes, Starla, Darington, and Zeg as well as their rival Crusher and his goofy sidekick Pickle. Watts and Sparkle join the main cast in Seasons 3 and 5.
Plot
The show focuses on Blaze, an orange-red monster truck, and his smart, young driver, AJ. They live in a world that is inhabited by sentient monster trucks called "Monster Machines", including primary characters Starla, Stripes, Zeg, Darington, Watts (as of Season 3), and Sparkle (as of Season 5). Among the cast is Gabby, a talented mechanic who later befriends Watts and becomes her driver. Each episode also features Crusher, a sneaky blue tractor-trailer who cheats in races, but slowly evolves into a nicer character. Crusher is always accompanied by his comic relief sidekick, Pickle.
Format
Each episode has Blaze and AJ go on various adventures and solve problems along the way, normally three per episode, with "assistance" from the viewing audience. Blaze might also transform into a different vehicle or artifact depending on the situation. Blaze may sometimes get a task done with the help of his special power, "Blazing Speed". In some episodes, Blaze, AJ and their friends race against Crusher. During the race, Crusher cheats, usually with the help of his gray robot parts.[clarification needed] However, Blaze and AJ manage to get through his traps, and they always beat him in time. Not all episodes involve a proper race, but still have Blaze competing against Crusher, sometimes by racing against him to get an item. Other episodes involve helping a friend such as Starla, Zeg, Darington, Stripes, Watts, Sparkle, or even Crusher and Pickle. Each episode features two or three original songs, usually performed by Blaze and AJ off-screen, when they are setting off on their adventure or demonstrating the episode's STEM concept.
Nolan North, pictured here in 2019, voices the titular character.
Blaze
Blaze (voiced by Nolan North) is the host of the series and central character, an orange-red monster truck who is good-hearted, loyal, and brave. He is based on the first-generation 2010-2014 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in the form of a trophy truck/pre-runner, judging from the coinciding orange-red color, and has a modified version of the older generation 2004-2008 F-150's grille shaping design, along with a 2007-2013 Chevrolet Silverado's horizontal bar.[original research?]
He is Axle City's number 1 racer, especially with help from his Blazing Speed which is initiated by saying "Let's Blaze!". At the beginning of Season 2, Blaze joins the Axle City Fire Department and Season 4 has him join the Axle City Police Department to help Officer Anna. In the Season 5 episode "The Blaze Family", Blaze reveals the he has a family: an unnamed mother and father, as well as a younger sister named Sparkle. Blaze and his friends also visit VelocityVille and Animal Island.
As revealed in the Season 3 episode "Need for Blazing Speed," Blaze's Blazing Speed engine is not only what he uses to unleash his Blazing Speed, but it is also what allows him to drive around in general. On his tires, he has flame patterns, and on his sides, he has his signature flame decals. A standard F-150 where the SVT Raptor was introduced would be the 12th overall. Despite being supposedly based on the SVT Raptor, Blaze only has one row, when in reality the actual said vehicle always has two.
As a superhero, Blaze gets melting power, strength power, and flying power.
AJ
AJ (speaking voices by Dusan Brown in "Blaze of Glory"–"Dragon Island Duel", Caleel Harris in "Runaway Rocket"–Season 3, Ramone Hamilton in Season 4–"The Amazing Stunt Kitty", Jakari Fraser in "Sir Blaze and the Unicorn"–"Video Game Land: A Monster Machine Super Special", Ayden Elijah in "The Garbage Truck Challenge"-present, singing voice by Jacquez Swanigan in "The Mystery Bandit"–"Rocket Ski Race", Reed L. Shannon in "Race to Eagle Rock"–"The Gold Medal Games", Aryton Celestine in "Sparkles Racing Badge"–"A Blazing Amazing Christmas", Judah Edwards in "Renewable Energy Racers"–"Valentine's Day Rescue", and Leo Abelo Perry in "School Bus Blaze!"-present) is the show's co-host and Blaze's human best friend and driver. He is an African-American science and technology expert. AJ's racing suit technology includes his Visor View in his helmet which allows him to see things no one else can. When AJ activates his Visor View, the background usually turns orange in Season 1. From Season 2 and onwards, it doesn't do that anymore. He also has skywriting gloves which allow him to draw pictures in mid-air (which has been abandoned after the events of the Season 4 episode "Ninja Blaze") and a wrist-com video watch worn on his left arm to call others. His uniform can also undergo minor changes in appearance, such as when Blaze transforms into a race car, and when Blaze uses his speed lights. As the show progressed, AJ became the one to describe the STEM concept instead of Blaze in earlier seasons.
Crusher
Crusher (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is the main antagonist from the series, though he slowly evolves into a nicer character, occasionally serving as an anti-hero. He's a deep blue tractor truck with a lighter blue lightning bolt motif who is Blaze's biggest rival, based on a large 18-wheeler cargo-truck, such as a 2005 Peterbilt 386 and/or 2012 Kenworth T680. He cheats in most episodes because he would get lampooned by Blaze in a fair race. He constructs various cheating gadgets from parts that he keeps in a bag on his chassis. In the episode "Blaze's First Race", it's revealed that Pickle seems to be the one to inspire Crusher's cheating, saying, "But Crusher, pressing the button would be CHEATING," and Crusher saying that he likes the sound of cheating.
While he is known for his cheating and mischievous ways, he is not all bad and not really evil. In fact, Crusher is still good at heart at times. The episode "Catch That Cake!" reveals that he has moral limits when it comes to stealing food; he admitted that he would have respected Darington's birthday cake and not taken a piece without permission, despite his temptation. In addition, Blaze and his friends are even willing to help Crusher in some instances, such as helping him find his toy truck Little Trucky in "The Mystery Bandit", and Gasquatch saving him by sneezing away a thundercloud and bringing him down from the Mud Mountain. Crusher even tried to resist cheating in "Defeat the Cheat" when he was paired with Blaze during the second Team Truck Challenge. In the episode, Crusher (along with Blaze) finally scored his first ever win, and it's also the first time Crusher doesn't show disgust after crashing into something and getting mud or food on him, as shown when he crashes into an ice cream stand while celebrating and upon tasting, he giddily says "Tastes like winning!"
On his tires, he has lightning bolt patterns.
Pickle
Pickle (voiced by Nat Faxon) is a small, and green singing hatchback monster truck based on a 1975 AMC Pacer with darker green stripes and bumps on his sides, who is Crusher's sidekick despite Crusher's indifference towards him, although the two are known to be close friends most of the time. In the episode "The Pickle Family Campout", it's revealed that he has a family: 3 cousins, 5 sisters, and a Grandpa. He tends to look on the brighter side of things and is quite goofy and has an extremely high pitch voice. Although he is by Crusher's side, Pickle is actually quite friendly towards Blaze and his friends. In the episode "Blaze's First Race", it's revealed that Pickle met Crusher during his first ever race, and he seems to be the one to inspire Crusher's cheating, saying, "But Crusher, pressing the button would be CHEATING," and Crusher saying that he likes the sound of cheating. On his tires, he has wavy line patterns.
Gabby
Gabby (voiced by Angelina Walher in Season 1–"Tow Truck Tough", Molly Jackson in "Need for Blazing Speed"–Season 5, Luna Bella Zamora in Season 6, Kensington Tallman in "Paramedic Power"–"Valentine's Day Rescue" and Micaiah Chen in "The Ice Treasure"-present) is a human mechanic with light skin, blue eyes and purple hair in a ponytail held by a blue Hair tie. She wears a white shirt with blue overalls, though she switches to a white and blue racing suit and helmet with goggles when either driving her ATV, riding with Blaze (with three exceptions being "Epic Sail" where she only wore her helmet when she, Blaze, AJ, and Stripes went off to get the sail but later took off her helmet offscreen, "Axle City Grand Prix" when she wore her overalls when Blaze left the garage but later switched to her blue racing suit for the rest of the episode, and "Robots to the Rescue" when she was wearing her magenta racing suit in Blaze's passenger seat when Robot Blaze welcomed his friends to Robot Headquarters), or other unknown reasons.
She fixes up the trucks when they are damaged and sometimes rides with AJ and Blaze to take part in some of their adventures and races, with her always doing this in the Special Missions miniseries. Gabby's outfit undergoes changes like AJ's uniform and helmet, but it has only happened twice. Gabby also drives a purple ATV, but she no longer drives it anymore after "Light Riders", because starting with "Fast Friends", she is now a Monster Machine driver for Watts, but continues to work in the garage. This makes her the second character to become one and to be partnered with a Monster Machine, the first being AJ who partners with Blaze. When Gabby drives Watts, she almost always wears a white and magenta version of her racing suit, and her hair also undergoes some slight changes, such as having her ponytail being held by a magenta hair tie.
Stripes
Stripes (voiced by Sunil Malhotra) is an orange tiger truck with violet stripes on him, and the design based on multiple generations of a Jeep Wrangler. He has the abilities of a tiger, such as a high sense of smell and retractable spike-claws in his tires. He is good at jumping and climbing. In Season 3's "Wild Wheels" episodes, when Blaze transforms into a Lion Monster Machine, he shares his engineering powers to transform Stripes into a tiger named Super Tiger Stripes. In "Babysitting Heroes," it reveals that Stripes can babysit baby animals. His home is a treehouse in a jungle outside Axle City.
On his tires, he has stripe patterns. In "The Monster Machine Christmas Extravaganza", he is an Axle City Caroler. As a superhero, Stripes has the power of any animal.
Starla
Starla (voiced by Kate Higgins) is a purple Southern-accented pickup truck based on a lot generic, and more stubbier version of the then-new 4th-generation 2014 GMC Sierra, with the same generation Chevrolet Silverado wheel wells, and a silver cowgirl hat. She is a roping expert. She runs a farm outside Axle City. She's the only female Monster Machine to be a main cast member until "Watts" in Season 3.
On her tires, she has horseshoe patterns. In "The Monster Machine Christmas Extravaganza", she is an Axle City Caroler. As a superhero, Starla can make any star she wants, like glowing stars, floating stars, and firework stars.
Darington
Darington (voiced by Alexander Polinsky) is a clumsy yet starry blue and white monster truck with a gold star motif based on either the second generation 2008-2010 or third generation 2011-2016 Ford F-250 Super Duty. He also has a helmet and cape-like spoiler. He loves stunts. His catchphrase is "Darington!" In "The Chicken Circus", it is revealed that Darington can speak chicken. In "The Amazing Stunt Kitty", it is also revealed that Darington has a kitty cat named Stunt Kitty as his pet and sidekick.
On his tires, he has star patterns. In "The Monster Machine Christmas Extravaganza", he is an Axle City Caroler. As a superhero, Darington can grow and shrink in size.
Zeg
Zeg (voiced by James Patrick Stuart) is a lime green dinosaur truck with brute tendencies based on a Terradyne Gurkha/Armet Gurkha F5. He has a short vocabulary and tends to refer to himself in third person. Like most Ceratopsian dinosaurs, Zeg loves to smash. In "Race to the Top of the World," Zeg reveals that he can't swim (even though he did show to do such thing later on in Five Alarm Blaze). He has a low, Hulk-like voice. His home is a prehistoric cave outside.
On his tires, he has rock patterns. In "The Monster Machine Christmas Extravaganza", he's an Axle City Caroler. His main catchphrase in multiple episodes is his name itself, "Zeg!". He's the only friend of Blaze to not have a superhero form.
Watts
Watts (voiced by Melanie Minichino) is a magenta South American-accented monster truck powered by electricity. She is the latest of Blaze's friends based on a 2016 Lamborghini Huracán LP610-4 Spyder with a truck grille and bumper. She is also the second female Monster Machine to both be part of the main cast and be part of Blaze's Monster Machine friends, with the first one being Starla. Watts' features include her electric engine and her special yellow electric tires, both allowing her to drive faster, and her Electric Charge which allows her to give anything electricity so it can work.
When Watts met Blaze, AJ and Gabby for the first time, she happily asks Gabby to be her driver, saying that she never had anyone driving her before. Gabby happily accepts Watts' offer, saying that she has never been a Monster Machine's driver before. Since then, Gabby is now a Monster Machine driver for Watts and the two are now very close friends. This makes Watts the second Monster Machine to be driven by a human and to be partnered with a Monster Machine driver, with the first being Blaze who partners with AJ. Despite this, however, Watts has made a few appearances without Gabby, unlike Blaze who always appears with AJ.
On her tires, she has lightning bolt patterns just like Crusher, though her's have a different design. In "The Monster Machine Christmas Extravaganza", she is an Axle City Caroler. She is also the only main character with colored tires. As a superhero, Watts can make and ride on lightning bolts.
Sparkle
Sparkle (voiced by Juliets Cortez) is Blaze's younger sister. She originally debuted as a guest character in the 5th season, but made periodic appearances in the next few seasons. She is based on the same type of Ford Raptor just like him. She has hot pink hair that has pigtails with yellow stars holding them in every place. Her eyes have glittery pink eye liner and eyelashes. She has a finish of sparkles on her tires, which has the same print as her brother. Sparkle's sides bear a smaller version of Blaze's flame symbol. Sparkle is very playful and enjoys her brother's company greatly. She also prefers fair play over cheating, putting her at odds over Crusher.
Just like Blaze, Sparkle has the ability to transform into other vehicles to perform different tasks. When transforming, Sparkle retains her hair and the flame symbol, but sometimes the flame symbol takes on other guises. Like Blaze too, Sparkle has a Blazing Speed engine as well. But hers have a pink and yellow contrail similar to Blaze's. In the episode "Super Wheels vs. The Bubblemaker", Sparkle reveals that she has a dinosaur.
As said above, her appearances and interaction with the viewer is one of the few aspects in hinting that Sparkle may be a second introduction of a new main character in the series after Watts. This was especially evident in "Sparkle's Big Rescue", where she took both her brother and AJ's places as the main protagonist of the episode after Crusher sent them away with the Bye-Bye Copter.
As a superhero, Sparkle can make anything made of glitter.
Recurring
Bump Bumperman (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a truck who announces all the races.
Rudy (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is Crusher's teammate. Based on Hummer H2 SUT converted to a 2-door single cab with Starla's grille and wheel wells.
Ferris (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a chopped roof tow truck. In the Season 1 episode "The Mystery Bandit", at the very ending scene, it turns out to be that he was actually the one who took the lost items. Yet once again based on GMC Sierra.
The Great Sphinx (voiced by Mayim Bialik) is a sphinx that only appeared in Race to the Top of the World. Whenever she appears, Darington gets easily scared.
Axle City is the main location of the series and where Blaze, AJ, Gabby, and all of the rest of the Monster Machines live. The most well-known locations of the area include the Monster Dome, Mud Mountain, a land of Medieval Monster Machines, and much more, including nearby islands. Monster Machines race events include Stuntmania, the Axle City Grand Prix and the Race to the Top of the World. Monster Machine friends, both in Axle City and other areas of the Monster Machine world, include the Great Sphinx, Pegwheel Pete and his Pirate Crew, Bump Bumperman, Joe and Gus, Gasquatch, the Light Thief (a kangaroo), the Litter Critter (a raccoon), and the Treat Thief (a mouse).
VelocityVille is the location for the "Race Car Adventures" episodes. To reach VelocityVille, Blaze and his friends travel to it with help from their friend, Swoops, whom Blaze and AJ first met before he offers them a ride on their very first visit to VelocityVille. Where Axle City is inhabited by Monster Machines, VelocityVille's inhabitants are Race Cars. This is where Blaze transformed into a Race Car for first time to save his new friends of Velocityville and since then, he, his Monster Machine friends and even Crusher and Pickle transform into Race Cars whenever they visit VelocityVille. As a result of the Race Car Transformation, AJ's racing suit also undergoes some slight changes, such as his racing helmet having white detailing instead of black. Blaze, AJ, Gabby and the other Monster Machine's Race Car friends include Rally, Fender, Dash, Mark-Set-Go and other Velocityville residents like Becky Checkerflag and Speedrick (formerly a rival who wants no one to be faster than him, but now a friend who believes that all race cars, including him, should be fast). In VelocityVille, Race Cars happily drive around the city at incredible speed and velocity thanks to their aerodynamic shapes, and Race Car events take place, such as the Race to Eagle Rock, the Polar Derby and the Hundred Mile Race.
Animal Island is a location in the Monster Machines' World where animals of all kinds reside, including insects. Animal Island is also the location for the "Wild Wheels" episodes. Unlike the animals in Axle City and VelocityVille, all of the animals in Animal Island are capable to talk like humans and Monster Machines, in addition to their usual animal noises. The main residents of the island and Blaze, AJ, Gabby and the Monster Machines' animal friends include Bunk the Elephant, Bam the Gorilla, Skyler the Falcon, Nelson the Rhino, and Tooks the Toucan. Blaze and his friends travel to Animal Island by raft or Swoops. When Blaze and his friends visit Animal Island, instead of STEM Concepts, the "Wild Wheels" episodes teach viewers educational facts about all kinds of Animals.
Miniseries
Race Car Adventures
Race Car Adventures is the name for six special episodes of Blaze and the Monster Machines Seasons 2 and 3. The first episode aired on May 30, 2016. The last episode aired on December 9, 2016. In these special episodes, Blaze and AJ visit a city called VelocityVille, a town populated entirely by race cars instead of monster trucks. Whenever Blaze goes there, he transforms into a race car so he can go fast like they do. The STEM concepts featured in these episodes are special and allude to race cars and what they do.
The theme song is changed for these episodes. As in the original, it begins with Blaze's flame sticker appearing and glowing over a black screen before zooming out to frame all of him in Swoops. During "On your mark", Blaze jumps through a virtual blueprint out of Swoops into VelocityVille, transforming into his race car form. He deploys Blazing Speed and sets off. During "So buckle your seatbelt", Rally, Dash and Fender race behind him as they drive around and AJ gives him speed. Those were both taken from a scene in Race Car Superstar. At "Gimme, gimme, gimme some speed", Blaze jumps off a ramp and he lands by Starla, Stripes, Zeg and Darington, also transformed, as they race together. At the second "Blaze and the Monster Machines (Go, Go!) (Blaze!)", they zoom past Crusher and Pickle, also transformed, the former looking shocked while the latter is impressed. Finally, they jump a hill and Blaze lands front and center, and the logo fades in behind him as he slides offscreen forward. Race car sound effects were added to fit the miniseries' title.
Wild Wheels
Wild Wheels is the name for six special episodes of Blaze and the Monster Machines Season 3. The first episode aired on May 29, 2017. The last episode aired on October 26, 2017. These special episodes also marked the debut of the show's new animation style. In these special episodes, Blaze and AJ visit a special place called Animal Island, an island inhabited by talking animal trucks who befriend them. Unlike other episodes, these episodes do not have STEM concepts, and instead focus on different animals and certain facts about what they do. Transformations in these episodes are also animal-like, and Blaze and his friends will often turn into an animal to solve the problem at hand.
Like the Race Car Adventures episodes, a unique title sequence was used. Like the original, Blaze's flame glows over black; at "On your mark", the view zooms out to frame him racing across the Animal Island savannah, passing Bunk then Nelson. At "One, two, three, Let's Blaze", He drives with Stripes in the jungle and they jump and transform into a lion and Super Tiger Stripes, respectively. At "So buckle your seatbelt", they jump through the forest, then Blaze jumps up and turns into a gorilla as he swings across the trees. At "Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie some speed", he then transforms into a rhinoceros and charges forward, smashing through a wall in his path. At "Blaze and the Monster Machines (Go, go!) (Blaze!)" He transforms into a shark and jumps into the ocean, swimming around. As he jumps out, he transforms into a falcon and flies around the Animal Island lagoon. Finally he flies past the camera and the theme song ends on the show's logo. The theme song only added whooshing sounds and the first version had a coloring error: Blaze's lion eyes are bright blue. Later episodes corrected this.
Robot Riders
Robot Riders is the name for eight special episodes of Blaze and the Monster Machines from Season 4 and Season 7. The first episode aired on May 28, 2018. These special episodes are unique as they do not take place in a special themed location like VelocityVille from Race Car Adventures and Animal Island from Wild Wheels. Instead, these episodes take place in and around Axle City like the original. Hence the title, every episode has Blaze transform into a super strong robot, as the problem at hand is too tough for a regular Monster Machine to solve. As a robot, Blaze gains robot power and can smash stuff and jump super high. AJ can also code a sequence for him to follow, which happens once every episode.
Like the previous special episodes, a unique title sequence is used. It starts with Blaze's flame glowing over black like the original, before zooming out to frame him driving on a blue grid. He jumps at the robot model and transforms, then jumps up. At "So buckle your seatbelt", he lands in Axle City and passes some trucks and Joe and Gus, before sliding down a metal pipe. At "When Blaze goes saving the day", boxes break off a crane and fall in the direction of two other trucks, so Blaze jumps up and kicks them away. At "Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie some speed", he swings across wrecking balls and swings around a pole. At "Blaze and the Monster Machines (Go, go!) (Blaze!)", he lands in the middle of Crusher and Pickle's picnic, and runs off as Pickle waves and Crusher looks shocked. At the second "Blaze and the Monster Machines (Go, go!) (Blaze!)", Blaze, Stripes and Watts do tricks at the skating rink, the latter two transformed into robots. Finally, Blaze, Stripes, Starla, Darington, Zeg and Watts run through Axle City, the latter three also transformed, and they jump at the camera and the theme song ends on the show's logo. The intro also added whooshing sound effects and computerized beeping.
Special Missions
Special Missions is the name for four special episodes of Blaze and the Monster Machines Season 6 and 7. The first episode aired on February 25, 2022. These episodes include a narrator in each episode (like Monster Machine Christmas). Like Robot Riders, the Special Missions episodes take place in and around Axle City. At the beginning, and at the end. Blaze encounters an antagonist, and the problem he's facing is a rather large one. So he becomes Special Mission Blaze. With Blaze turning himself into Special Mission Blaze, he gets three epic Special Mission modes. He uses all three throughout the episode since he faces three problems. At the end of each episode, the antagonist usually gets upset because Special Mission Blaze was able to stop them, and then Blaze, AJ, and Gabby all together give the antagonist a small talk on what they're doing, and how it's wrong, and how doing the opposite could be beneficial for them. At the end, the antagonist then changes their ways.
Super Wheels
Super Wheels is the name for four special episodes from Blaze and the Monster Machines of Season 6 and Season 7. The first episode aired in September 13, 2022. Similar to Special Missions, the Super Wheels episodes include a narrator in the start of each episode. Also, like both Robot Riders and Special Missions, the Super Wheels episodes take place in and around Axle City. In these episodes, a very powerful supervillain comes to cause trouble around the city, so Blaze, AJ, and one or two of their friends transform into superheroes to save the day.
Production
The first season consisted of 20 episodes.[1] On June 15, 2015, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on October 10, 2016.[2] On June 21, 2017, it was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on March 26, 2018.[3] On May 22, 2018, it was renewed for a fifth season which premiered on August 16, 2019.[4] On February 19, 2020, the series was renewed for a sixth season which premiered on December 18, 2020.[5] On August 9, 2021, Charlie Adler, the voice director for the series, confirmed that the series was renewed for a seventh season,[6] which was later confirmed to have 26 episodes.[7]
Broadcast
Blaze and the Monster Machines premiered on Nick Jr. in the United Kingdom and Ireland on March 6, 2015[8] and on Nick Jr. in Australia and New Zealand on March 9.[9] The series is also airing on Nickelodeon and Treehouse TV in Canada[10] and Nick Jr. in Africa.[11] It premiered on Nicktoons in the United Kingdom along with Ryan's Mystery Playdate on 6 January 2020.[12]
"Big Rig to the Rescue!", "Big Rig Blaze", "Big Rig: Dolphin Delivery" & "The Big Balloon Rescue"
Video game
In 2021, Outright Games released a racing game, Blaze and the Monster Machines: Axle City Racers on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Mobile streaming
On August 31, 2017, the first two seasons and the first half of the third season were added to the Noggin app.
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